


While You Were Sleeping

by baeconandeggs, picassobaby



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life, Unbeta-ed, very minor Jongin/Kyungsoo and Sehun/Irene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 21:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14627375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/picassobaby/pseuds/picassobaby
Summary: Baekhyun has a crush on his thesis partner and it literally takes over his life and mind. Know what they say about subconsciousness and dreams, sometimes they translate into reality.





	While You Were Sleeping

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #:** 148
> 
> ** Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. ** Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals. The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Author's Note:** It's my first time joining BAE and I kind of felt the pressure towards the end having life take all of my time away from writing. That being said, I wasn't able to have my fic edited so, please pardon all the mistakes you may spot along the way. Thank you in advance and I hope you enjoy it somehow~

The university student tries a grin mid-yawn and mumbles praises at the heavens as soon as the waiter places their mugs of beverage on their usual table at the cafe. Somewhere near the back where there are no windows to distract them, Baekhyun is seated beside his thesis partner, Chanyeol. The aroma invades his senses much more aggressively now, it’s a simple Vietnamese brew— his favorite, blending in with the subtle warmth of the other’s choice, a classic hot mocha.

 

It’s pretty chilly outside with the light rain constantly pouring. The weather inducing much laziness to majority of the population, making it a challenge to really just be completing the most menial tasks and the more important class requirements.

 

“Ugh, this weather ain’t helping,” Baekhyun groans, the end of his pen tapping against the photocopied pages of their related literature. His eyes were droopy with the signature final year student dark circles around them. His hair is a wavy fluff of ash brown, faded from the purple it used to be due to the lack of maintenance. It was a pretty cute sight how he’s frowning with his hoodie up over his head.

 

Chanyeol chuckles softly, distractedly replying as he is reading his notes on another piece of reference, “I know, right.” The tall boy had his usual snapback on backwards hiding his naturally curly hair, his ears sticking out with its tips reddening from the temperature inside the establishment. The smile on Chanyeol’s usually happy face has a tinge of tiredness to it, Baekhyun notices.

 

“Can’t we nap for like… I don’t know, 17 hours?” He’s playing with the pen in his hand, twirling it in between his fingers instead of taking notes for review, “I’m really exhausted. This week has been a real pain.”

 

The other boy puts down his pen and picks up a pink highlighter, “Up to you,” he shrugs, smirking at the other, “I mean, if we don’t finish this chapter earlier, the next couple of months are going to be an even bigger pain.”

 

“I hate you,” Baekhyun mumbles, his body leaning against the wall to his other side as he looks at the pile of paperwork on their table with disdain, and then to his partner who is almost done with his current review, “Why do you have to be rational at my peak of lazy?”

 

“We can’t both be lazy at the same time, or we’ll go nowhere,” Chanyeol replies, looking up from the papers to smile at him as he picks up his drink to sip from it, “Come on, the more we get done the closer we get to sleeping.”

 

Much to his own dismay, Baekhyun pulls himself to sit upright and sighs before taking a sip from his coffee, the strong liquid giving him a slap back to his senses and helping him kickstart on focusing on the things to be done.

 

Silence between them is comfortable, sometimes interrupted by questions about each other’s insights regarding different topics and whether or not some things are relevant to their study or not. It was a nice working dynamic and both of them couldn’t be any more thankful. They could just imagine how much of a nightmare it would be to work with someone you can’t even be in-sync with.

  
  
  


Baekhyun is on his way out of the university with Sehun for lunch, another one of his friends from previous classes. He’s a tall, lanky boy, a couple years younger. The person whom had got him to color his hair different colors from time to time. They had taken the same general math class he had put off prior and have been close friends since, going to parties together, and eating and drinking with their usual group.

 

Only Sehun knows about his crush on a certain curly haired boy with, in Baekhyun’s words,  _ ‘a really cute ass smile but has a nonexistent ass’ _ , a thing the younger student couldn’t find any correlation.

 

They’d been chatting about stuff from Sehun’s last class, something about asking a girl named Irene out on Friday if she doesn’t have anything going on. Baekhyun chuckles but supportively pushes the younger boy to go for it, seeing as he’s actually planning how the date is going to happen if the girl agrees. He’s never seen Sehun so interested, so he’d like to see for himself how this will turn out.

 

Inevitably, Sehun turns the topic on him for the sake of teasing, “Any progress on that confession we talked about half a year ago?”

 

“Fuck off,” Baekhyun grumbles, “I don’t want to get turned down and then have to face him the following day because we still have a thesis to work on. It’s just not a good time for that yet.”

 

“Or you could be going on study dates as boyfriends, you know,” Sehun interjects, “That cute stuff you fantasize about.”

 

His eyes roll in its sockets at this and then he sighs, “I want to, really, but I can’t. It’s too much of a risk and what if it destroys our working dynamic? We’re going along well with our thesis and it’s a huge relief.”

 

“Yeah, but the longer you delay it, the more feelings you’re getting specially with the time you spend together,” Sehun explains as gently as he can with that unfeeling voice, “By the time you confess and it doesn’t go as you want it too, you’ll be in too deep and that’s not a beautiful picture.”

 

“I get your point, but for now, what’s important to me is that I finish this thesis and get to my graduation,” Baekhyun says with finality, “If I get rejected by then, at least there’s a chance for me to move on easily, my world is about to get bigger when I leave this place.”

 

They leave it at that and it makes Baekhyun feel a little more hopelessly attracted to Chanyeol. Thinking of how things may or may not turn out causes him to blush or cave in on his own. If Sehun ever notices it, he doesn’t say anything.

  
  
  


“I think we covered our scope well with these,” Chanyeol says after they’ve given their materials a run-through together. They’re going to see their adviser in the afternoon for a discussion and they made it a point to be more than ready with questions and specifics.

 

“I know, it’s just I can’t help but feel like I don’t really know any better,” Baekhyun chuckles half-heartedly. Looking a little distraught as they pack their things to get out of the library together.

 

“Nah, we’ll be fine, don’t worry about it much,” the other consoles him as they walk towards the exit, “This part just really sucks.”

 

They make their way to Professor Jung’s office and see a couple of students already waiting outside, presumably for consultation on their work as well or just to submit requirements. They take seats on the floor on the corridor right across the office doors, thinking it’s going to take a while.

 

Baekhyun takes out a couple of sandwiches from his backpack and offers one over to Chanyeol, “It’s quite soggy now but it’s egg and tuna,” he grins.

 

“You always carry two sandwiches in your bag?” the other asks, taking the bag, and opening it with a very happy thanks.

 

“Three actually, I already ate the first one earlier,” Baekhyun chuckles softly, “Sometimes I’m too lazy to walk to get me some fresh food.”

 

The other boy nods and smiles, starting up another random conversation while they wait and eat. Baekhyun finds that it’s incredibly soothing to listen to Chanyeol talk about anything— his interests, hobbies, pets, games he’s been playing, music, and the list goes on. They never really get to have any idle time like this together and have not really spent time apart from when they’re working on their output. It was a very welcomed change.

 

However, as nice and light it makes Baekhyun feel during, walking back up to his dorm room alone after they’ve parted reminds him how Chanyeol is practically close enough but he can’t reach out the way he wants to. Tomorrow, they’re meeting up again to brainstorm the next part of their study. He’d better get some shut eye for now.

  
  
  


Baekhyun forgot to set an alarm as he had haphazardly crashed onto his bed with his socks and jeans still on. He did not feel this tired the day before but his drowsiness is rendering him practically useless. His yawns are endlessly spilling out of his mouth, making tears build up in the corners of his eyes. He had only woken up to the sound of his phone ringing. Chanyeol had been calling him for about ten minutes after he hasn’t shown up to their usual meet-up.

 

He is physically present. His notebook is in place with his pen in hand but his mind isn’t working, “Oh god, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I’m just too sleepy.”

 

“It’s alright, I ordered you your favorite coffee so hopefully that helps,” Chanyeol replies with his usual smile, “You should really get some rest before this turns into fatigue and you miss out on more classes, though.”

 

The sleepy boy rubs at his eyes and tries to stifle another yawn. The coffee is served and he takes a deep whiff of the aroma. Just like every other time he’s met with this concoction, his senses awaken enough for him to function. He hears Chanyeol lightly laugh at his dependence on caffeine while telling him it’s not good for his health. Baekhyun has half the mind to lean in and give him a kiss, if only he could.

  
  
  


They move to Baekhyun’s dorm room when the crowd gets too distracting during rush hour. Both wide awake from consuming coffee and a slice each of sinful dark chocolate cake, they are able to come up with ideas for the planning and execution part of their thesis. The creatives, and the implementation have been covered as well as their targeted budget.

 

By the time they’ve listed down their ideas and have chosen a few that they would most likely develop, they decide to rest and stop for the day. It’s close to dinner when they let go of their pens and notes and Baekhyun is finally allowed to dive onto his bed. Chanyeol groans in envy, wanting to bury himself in his own sheets as well, except the heavy rain out is holding him back from walking back to his own dorm building.

 

The shorter male offers to let him stay over. No big deal, he has extra sheets and a sleeping bag which the other excitedly agrees on sleeping in. “I’ve never slept in a sleeping bag,” Chanyeol says and it kind of makes Baekhyun feel a tiny bit sad for him.

 

“Haven’t you gone camping before?” Baekhyun asks.

 

“I wasn’t very outgoing, I had lots of allergies and skin conditions back then,” Chanyeol reveals with a frown.

 

“Sorry, though, I can’t believe your first time sleeping in one is going to be indoors,” the other teases.

 

Chanyeol just shrugs, “Eh, at least I get a place to sleep in. Thanks, Baekhyun!” He is a little bit too tall for it but he doesn’t complain. Lying down beside the shorter male’s bed where the night light is, they both fall into silence. Tired, sleepy, and relaxed by the sound of rain pelting against the glass windows behind the curtain.

  
  
  


Sehun is with Jongin when he meets up with Baekhyun for lunch, again. Jongin, the younger’s childhood friend of the same age who had convinced him to attend the same university as he was pretty much indecisive.

 

“Kyungsoo’s catching up in a bit, he’s coming from a make-up class.” the boy says, his lips slightly jutting out in a pout naturally, making him look a tad boyish.

 

The three make their way to a nearby family restaurant for some Korean and Chinese food, settling down at a table by the exit as the place is expected to be packed as lunch time rolls in. They order their usual and chat while waiting for both the food and Kyungsoo— well, Jongin and Sehun talk while Baekhyun rests his head on his folded arms on the table, quickly succumbing to sleep.

 

The smell of meat helps rouse him from his power nap which makes the two younger boys poke fun at him, “Damn, the world could be ending but he won’t wake up until there’s meat,” Sehun says, Jongin quickly agreeing with fitfulls of laughter. Baekhyun laughs along albeit groggily.

 

Kyungsoo arrives a few minutes later with an unexpected friend in tow.

 

“Oh, hi Baekhyun!” the voice was very familiar that Baekhyun almost chokes on kimchi, “Didn’t know you’re friends with Soo and Jongin.”

 

“Chanyeol!” he greets back, suddenly coughing in between trying to chew. Sehun hands him a cup of water. Jongin and Kyungsoo eyeing him weirdly.

 

“You two know each other?” Kyungsoo asks, Sehun scoots over to make space for Kyungsoo beside Jongin so Chanyeol takes the seat across from them beside his choking friend.

 

“We’re thesis partners,” Chanyeol easily answers, “We’re supposed to be meeting after school today, actually. Things have been going pretty smoothly.”

 

After his coughing fit, Baekhyun sets down his cup of water and chopsticks, “Yeah, luckily,” he agrees, not really knowing what to say, “So, you had the same make-up class together? Such a small world.”

 

Sehun snorts to himself and shoves a piece of pork with rice into his mouth to get off of Baekhyun’s case.

 

Kyungsoo explains, as Jongin puts food onto his bowl of warm rice, how they’re actually in a band together with a couple of other people. It was a thing from highschool that’s fun to get back to when they have the time. And since it’s a good way to also take some stress off of their systems, they decided to do it a bit more regularly again since it isn’t anything serious.

 

“You should come over and watch us practice some time?” Chanyeol says, directly at him that he gets a little confused, “It’s a little sad that we only really meet up when we have to do thesis work.”

 

Baekhyun stutters out an okay and grimaces. He doesn’t know if this is really happening because how come he never knew that his friends were friends with the only guy he’s ever had a huge crush on?  _ How come Sehun never told him about this? Did he know? He seems to know. He always knows, that prick. _ He comes back down to earth when Chanyeol nudges his arm gently and hands him a table napkin, “You have chili paste on your face.”

 

He’s murdering Sehun in his head a hundred times over when he laughs. In the middle of everything, Jongin and Kyungsoo had already faded into their own world, as usual.

  
  
  


He’s still shy around Chanyeol outside of their thesis meetings. Skirting around the other and torn between getting to know more about him and being passive. He likes the attention, if he’s being honest, but he’d rather push all that back for now than risk anything at all. He thinks this point in his life is quite crucial if anything related to his graduation is concerned.

 

Whenever he gets lost in his own thoughts, he finds that there’s nothing about Chanyeol that he can seem to dislike. Little actions and encouraging words give him sparks of hope from time to time, making it difficult for him to keep his own thoughts and feelings at bay. He doesn’t have the luxury to be pondering about feelings when he’s already sleepless as it is working on midterm requirements. With a guttural groan, he buries his face into his pillow and sighs, totally forgetting that his partner is right across the small dorm room from him.

 

“You okay?” The other says, “How about a nap?”

 

Baekhyun keeps his face buried in the pillow and raises a thumbs up to the other. This makes Chanyeol smile and chuckle at the other’s cute antics.

 

Sleep soon consumes the other within minutes while Chanyeol pursues the work at hand. For almost an hour, he works quietly focused, eyebrows creasing and eyes stinging from tired dryness. He leans back against the wall to rest his eyes for a while when he discovers that Baekhyun has a sleeping habit the other probably doesn’t know. He moves a lot in his sleep and sleep talks.

 

He was about to pull his phone out to record what is potentially blackmail material when the other calls his name out in a slur. Chanyeol had to double check if he was really asleep. He crawls silently from the end of the room towards the side of the bed. Baekhyun was totally out like a log. He even waved his huge hand over the sleeping boy’s face but got no response.

 

When he was about to go back to where he sat to leave the other to his dreams, he almost falls over.

 

Baekhyun says something a little too close to a confession, “I like you a lot.”

 

Chanyeol doesn’t want to think anything of it. Baekhyun could have said something else but sounded similar to that. He could have been mumbling his name earlier, but is talking to a totally different person in his dreams now.

 

Nonetheless, it doesn’t keep the tall boy’s heart from hammering against his chest and blushing to the tips of his ears. If Baekhyun could only confess to him in his dreams, why can’t he be part of that dream right now, too? He calms his own heart and tries to forget about what occurred so that he can focus. He still has a lot to work on while the other is off in dream land. Now is not the time to be wishing and hoping.

  
  
  


It was a slow day at the cafe today as students had dispersed from the campus for the summer break. Unfortunately, for Baekhyun, he had more important things to deal with that spend a few days at the beach or some friend’s vacation pool house. The cafe is at least cool enough inside to keep him comfortable. He’s more than halfway done with his analysis of the survey that he and Chanyeol had distributed around different shopping districts. He’s opted for an iced matcha latte for a change to calm his nerves. Since it’s been a couple of days since the break had began, he’d had ample time to rest. He feels more productive and highly motivated to push progress on the project. 

 

Giving himself a short break, Baekhyun picks up his phone to browse through social media. Memes and his friends’ nonsensical shit posts are always able to make him laugh or get his mind off of things for a bit. He scrolls through notifications as well, leaving them unread for him to come back to when he’s done. Conversations are very distracting once he replies, he’s gotta keep replying then or else he’ll keep thinking about them.

 

Except there’s a message from Chanyeol and he instantly finds an excuse to read it.  _ What if it’s about our thesis? _ He opens the message and smiles to himself, reading the text over and over.  _ ‘Don’t overwork! We can continue working on it when I get back in three days. You should rest and have some fun, too.’ _

 

Baekhyun types in his reply,  _ ‘I’m all good. Go enjoy yourself! Be careful.’ _ followed by silly emojis. He stares at it before tapping on send. Naturally, overthinking, as that’s just how he is when it concerns the other. Scrunching his nose, he deletes the entire message and types in a new reply,  _ ‘You’ll have lots to work on when you get back so have fun now while you can~’ _ with a series of mischievous emojis, then immediately hits the send icon.

 

With a soft chuckle to himself, he puts his phone down. Baekhyun stares at the pile of work in front of him and sees his own progress. Looks like he’ll have time to go out with Sehun for games, or maybe go back home for a few days.

  
  
  


Sehun’s cursing and loud whining is beginning to make him want to tear his ears off. The kid sucked at the new game they’re playing and Baekhyun is in between mercilessly teasing the younger boy or just telling him off— maybe later when he’s already won the game and had rubbed the win on Sehun’s face enough. He’s getting a little bored and antsy and the video games aren’t enough of a distraction.

 

He’d won and Sehun had accepted his fate, but the younger knows something is off with the way Baekhyun’s teasing isn’t even half as funny or offensive as their usual trash talking. “Okay, spill. What’s bothering you?” He hears Sehun ask.

 

Baekhyun tries to shrug the feeling off but he knows he needed to get it out of his chest. With an uncertain laugh and a grimace he tells Sehun, “I might have been having dreams about Chanyeol for a couple of weeks now,” Sehun stares at him, silently urging him to elaborate, “And, well, every time I wake up I feel like I really had said something along the lines of a confession but he hasn’t really said anything about me sleep talking or whatever.”

 

“You mean, you fall asleep while working on your thesis and in those naps, you managed to have dreams about him,” Sehun replies, more of a statement than a question and he feels judged.

 

“I can’t help it, I’ve been lacking on sleep for months,” he says in defense, “Besides, he lets me nap instead of stare at papers.”

 

Sehun barely hums and nods as he watches Baekhyun. “Well, you know what I’m going to say about this already, it’s really up to you.”

 

He sighs and shakes his head gently, “You also already know why I’m postponing it.”

 

Sehun nods at him with the corners of his lips pulled down, understanding but nonetheless displeased, “Just don’t let it take you over. I mean, you have a lot of important things in your plate and getting distracted and stressed out about your feelings isn’t going to help you.”

 

“A broken heart won’t either.” Baekhyun immediately retaliates and holds in a huff, letting his breath out slowly instead as he slumps back against the backrest of the lazyboy he’s sitting on.

 

“I’m just saying,” Sehun says a little louder to get Baekhyun’s attention back, to really listen, “That this is becoming unhealthy for you. Stop trying to label other people’s feelings just because you don’t have the courage to ask or admit yours. You’re expecting him to reject you when he’d always just been the nicest guy you ever had to work with, even after you’d gotten close and showed him how stupid and rash you could get. What if he’s sincerely looking out for you because there’s feelings and you’re passing it off as his friendliness like you always do?”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything and just stares off into space with a defeated frown. The silence deafens him and he’s trying so hard to keep still and composed. He knows that Sehun is right, the added tension on his shoulders is mainly from being so invested in his feelings while assuming the worst with no intentions of even trying or verbally admit anything to the person of his affections.

 

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Sehun off-handedly says, “He’s too gentle, he won’t hurt you.”

  
  
  


Chanyeol dials Baekhyun up when he's out of the airport, headed back to his parents’ house to unpack his things from the beach resort trip and pack his necessities and new clothes for university before going back to the dorms.

 

“Hey!” he greets enthusiastically, “I’ve just landed and we’re headed back to my parents’. Where are you going to be tonight?”

 

He doesn’t know that Baekhyun is smiling at his end of the line as he asks about what he’s planning. He hears his voice, dripping with concern despite the teasing tone and it makes his heart flutter. The way the other tells him to just relax first and that whatever plans he had can wait til he’s well-rested, makes him laugh lightly for no particular funny reason at all.

 

“I’m trying to get out of having to entertain our relatives at home, actually, help me out here?” Chanyeol was sheepish and teasing, and hoping to get an affirmative from the boy at the other end of the line. He hears Baekhyun sigh and agree, asking him to buy some snacks and movies if he feels like it.

 

Little did he know that Baekhyun cancels on video games with Sehun— the boy getting some teasing from the younger calling it a date just to rile Baekhyun up. It’s a bit of a detail that Chanyeol really didn’t need to know about soon.

 

Chanyeol has different potato chips and a huge bottle of ranch dip in a grocery bag in one arm while the other pull his luggage along when he arrives at Baekhyun’s. The other’s eyes pointedly trained on the amount of things he is currently carrying around campus, taking the paper bag off of the other’s arm to ease him off his struggle to pull the luggage into the spacier part of the entryway.

 

“Thank you!” Chanyeol says a little too loudly as soon as he’s able to stretch his limbs from the soreness, “You saved me from a night of terror!” He laughs, moving towards the now familiar couch as Baekhyun tails behind him, rummaging the bag to take out his favorite plain salted potato chips to drizzle some ranch dressing over them.

 

“You’re lucky I got really lazy tonight,” Baekhyun says, sniggering to himself. His phone is on silent as he’s sure that Sehun is sending him threats and endless teasing messages to mock him.

 

“Indeed, I am,” the tall boy grins at him. His heart is making weird little palpitations that makes his hands clammy, he feels his ears warm the more he tries to suppress the pumping of his heart and it’s giving him a hazy headache. Chanyeol looks so at home, seated comfortably on the couch with just lounge clothes on having obviously rushed out from his parents’ house. His curly hair is a little tamed but is still fluffed, making his ears all the stick out less. “—hyun?”

 

“Huh?” Baekhyun dumbly responds, “You were saying something?”

 

He likes even the way Chanyeol chuckles at his lacking moments, “I was wondering if you were up for anything? Movies, games? Anything?” Those bright eyes that smile along with his entire face, always following the antics of the taller student’s reactions.

 

“Well, maybe later. How was your trip? Seemed fun!” Baekhyun smiles, asking with sincere curiosity. In the months they’ve worked together, he has found that Chanyeol’s family liked to travel together. There are weeks in that span of time wherein the other boy would be out of the country and they worked via messaging apps.

 

He listened intently every time the boy with the low voice would excitedly tell him things about the things he had experienced during his different travels. It always ended with him getting absolutely enamoured and helpless, with his heart on his sleeve and his mouth quite dry and agape. He recovers when Chanyeol smiles at him or laughs uncontrollably as he recalls the moments that had made his time away completely rejuvenating. It was always such a lovely sight.

 

They talk endlessly eventually, jumping from topic to topic and consequently getting to know each other. Sometimes Baekhyun couldn’t help but stare too long as they exchange insights or their own little anecdotes. The wide smile on Chanyeol’s face keeps his eyes on him, the dimples a little too distracting, and the way his eyes curve into crescents was too handsome. The other’s eyes soften every time he catches Baekhyun’s, heart fluttering.

 

The food was gone a couple of hours ago yet they’re still making conversation so effortlessly just about anything. They’d brought up ordering pizza or chicken wings but never really got around to ordering delivery. The chemistry was thick between them and it felt refreshing to just talk and talk and be themselves without the pressure of pleasing the other in terms of their output for final year requirements.

 

Baekhyun revels in the hours and seconds, trying to remember every single detail about the night. He thinks this may never happen again and it could be a happy memory he could look back to when it’s too late. He reminds himself again that there are more important things than romance at this point in his life, and if it so happens that he may be too late by the time he’s ready to own up to his emotions, then so be it. He’s used to things not going his way, what’s another heartbreak?

 

“Baekhyun?” he hears Chanyeol call out to him, “You okay? You were spacing out for a minute there.”

 

“Yeah— yeah, just tired, I guess.” Baekhyun smiles at him, soft and charmingly ditzy with sleepiness.

 

“Well, it’s pretty late. We really hadn’t talked that much ever, I’m glad we’re able to spend time,” Baekhyun tries to catch up with how fast his heart is beating inside his ribcage, he thanks the dim lighting of his room with the light only coming from the usual street lamps and decorative lights outside the building.

 

“Let’s crash for the night,” Chanyeol says, reaching out to gently run his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair so that he can see his face better. He can only nod and hum in agreement before getting off the couch to fetch some extra sheets and lend Chanyeol his extra pillow. The shorter boy laughs when Chanyeol asks about his sleeping bag.

  
  
  


Love is probably too strong of an emotion to own up to so he settles for accepting that he likes Chanyeol a lot. Baekhyun considers himself the type to be serious when it comes to relationships, hence, the overthinking. He doesn’t want the heartbreak, but more so he doesn’t want to place a burden as heavy as feelings on someone else’s shoulders just for his relief. There are things that he thinks he can take to the grave and secret feelings are part of that list.

 

He sees the way the taller student looks in his direction when the other is with his group of friends and Baekhyun is with his. He melts away when Chanyeol doesn’t miss a beat in smiling at him when he sees him catch him looking, it’s like he’s staring until he gets caught and Baekhyun is the one getting taken aback. Seemingly not getting used to any of it.

 

Sehun teases him about it when they’ve walked away, “I can’t believe you’re not together when you’re stealing glances and shy smiles like a love sick couple. I’m so close to inviting him over to one of our drinking parties so y’all could smash.”

 

“Please don’t,” is all he says. He knows well that Sehun stops when he gets boring reactions.

  
  
  


Chanyeol brings a box of chocolate glazed doughnuts over when Baekhyun was suffering a bad allergy and had to stay in for the day. They are working on their papers together in the boy’s dorm room again. Baekhyun had just eaten a pack of instant ramyeon when Chanyeol arrived, earning him a little lecture, and a promise of homemade  _ doenjang jigae _ for dinner.

 

Baekhyun sees the tiny growing tally of his sneezing in Chanyeol’s notebook but he can’t really be mad when the other persistently asks if he wants to rest. The other student didn’t have to bear with his sneezing, sniffling, and endless nose blowing. Moreover, he was afraid that his cold virus might get Chanyeol sick too.

 

“Chanyeol, I’ll be fine. I’m not a child, you know?” He says, trying a sassy tone over the nasal quality of his current voice.

 

“I know that, but I think you’ll recover faster if I take care of you. I came in here seeing you slurp instant food before downing your medicine. I don’t think that helps at all.” He couldn’t help but pout after hearing a gentle reprimanding from the other. Neither can he help the bubbling giddiness in his stomach at what the rest of the day entails.

 

They don’t work on anything related to their thesis after Chanyeol had prepared dinner for both of them. He discovers that he’s a good cook and that it runs in the other’s family. Baekhyun also learns that Chanyeol’s mother has an Italian restaurant where she channels her creativity in the kitchen with basic staples of Italian food and featuring fusion specials every week.

 

Chanyeol laughs when Baekhyun burps out loud from being full and extremely satisfied by the meal that he prepared. Although embarrassed, he laughs along and profusely thanks the giant for the delicious meal.

 

“How am I supposed to survive without your cooking now, huh?” Baekhyun teases.

 

“I can always come over for dinner and cook for us,” Chanyeol casually suggests.

 

Baekhyun’s heart stops and falls to his gut. He smiles shyly, feeling the warmth spread through his face and his chest. “You don’t have to do that, I was just joking.”

 

“Well, I’m not. It’s fun! Didn’t you enjoy it?” Chanyeol insists, eyes twinkling in Baekhyun’s as he shows that wide, toothy grin, “I think you did!”

  
  
  


They’ve wrapped up their paperwork and have had it approved by their mentor. The only things left to do are to publish the output, and polish their presentation and materials. For the heck of it, they even got matching suit and ties for the big defense.

 

“Hey, so we’re on for some reviewing after school today, right?” Chanyeol says, catching up to Baekhyun as the other is rushing to his last class of the day, luckily in the same direction of his last class too, just a few rooms down from the shorter male’s.

 

“Yes, definitely,” Baekhyun smiles as Chanyeol grins at him, “I’ll meet you after class! See you!”

 

Merchandising was important to him but it was a challenge to pay attention for the entire duration of the class as the professor gets boring and bland thirty minutes in. He silently counts down the minutes until class is over, yawning and getting all teary-eyed from being too sleepy. He absolutely wishes that time would tick by faster.

 

Chanyeol wasn’t faring any better in his Taxation class. Long legs stretched out front and his hoodie up to cover his droopy eyes, one earphone set in his ear as he convinces himself that at least five more songs will help him get by the rest of the hour, if he doesn’t fall asleep first.

 

Baekhyun is chuckling softly to himself as he watches Chanyeol’s head tilt from a side to the other in his sleep. He’d come to the taller boy’s classroom to wait for him outside but the other is in deep slumber. A few had asked him if they should wake the giant up but he refused so he can do it himself. This isn’t something he sees often as he’s the sleepier one on more occasions when they’re together. He takes a video of the boy, mischievously laughing by himself, before feigning innocence and waking the other up gently. “Chanyeollie, wake up,” he says, nudging the sleeping man’s shoulder and shaking him lightly, “Yeol, hey.”

 

Chanyeol stirs and his face contorts into that of severe confusion as he figures out his surroundings. “Oh shit, how long was I out?” he says with that heavily groggy voice and with a cute blank expression.

 

“I’m assuming about an hour or so,” Baekhyun teases, “Let’s go so you can continue your nap when we get back to the dorms.” The other boy just hums in his disoriented state, eyes blank as he shoves his things into his backpack and starts walking with Baekhyun on autopilot. He can’t help but internally coo at the softness of how Chanyeol is when he’d just woken up from a power nap. “Let’s skip reviewing today, yeah? You look like you need lots of rest.”

 

“Yes, please, let’s catch up on some sleep,” Chanyeol says in that still raspy voice, Baekhyun hands him his water tumbler to freshen up, “Can we stay at your dorm?”

 

“Sure,” he replies, “Will you make us dinner again tonight?”

 

“Anything for you, Baekhyunnie.”

  
  
  


Chanyeol wakes up with his arms full of a sleeping Baekhyun— face pressed to his chest, warm and stable breath flitting through his cotton shirt, arms draped over his waist, and legs tangled with his. This is the first time they’d slept on the same bed and it felt good to wake up this way. He savors the way Baekhyun is relaxed against him, uncaring and comfortable. It’s late morning, almost noon, he guesses by the way the sun is casting vague shadows through the thick curtains.

 

He feels content just like this. Though he knows that he’ll start wishing for this as soon as tomorrow comes, for every time he’ll wake up alone in his own bed, he’ll think of this and not just the idea of Baekhyun. He lets out a soft, gentle sigh and cuddles the smaller boy closer as he closes his eyes.

 

The only thought running through his mind is a wish for Baekhyun to read into all his hints. He doesn’t know what else is stopping the other from putting the words out there, but if he’d been thinking about confessing, he’ll wait until he’s ready. Well, only for as long as his heart can take and he doesn’t get ahead of himself and steal the moment from the love of his life.

 

He had never been one to pass the marshmallow test as kid since patience wasn’t really his forte. It’s just that Baekhyun is always the exception.

  
  
  


Baekhyun arrives at the family restaurant where Sehun and Chanyeol were already waiting with Jongin and Kyungsoo. They’ve all probably ordered since the idle chatting seems to be looking serious from a distance.

 

“—he’d say it awake, and not while he’s sleeping next to me.” He catches Chanyeol say before the other notices him and moves frantically to put his bag elsewhere to make space for Baekhyun.

 

“What’s up? Why are y’all looking too serious?” He asks nonchalantly, “Did something happen?”

 

Kyungsoo shakes his head and shrugs, “Just frustrating stuff. It’s kind of stupid but, oh well.”

 

Baekhyun looks at Sehun and Jongin eyeing him with faces looking constipated.

 

“Why are your faces like that?” He asks the two, eyeing them right back as Chanyeol leans back to collect himself.

 

“I’m hungry, our orders are taking so long,” Jongin says, whiny and cute, directing his attention at Kyungsoo alone to divert from the conversation they’d almost got caught having.

 

Baekhyun shakes his head and turns to the man beside him, “Hey, how are you?”

 

Chanyeol shrugs and smiles tiredly, “Same old, same old, but extra tired. I just want to go home and sleep for days.”

 

“That’s cute and all but we’re literally a couple of days away from defense, Yeol,” Baekhyun says, the nickname not going amiss by the way the other three on the table had suddenly looked at the addressed with knowing smiles.

 

“I know, but I’d like to recharge and not feel like dying on the day that I’ll be dying from nervousness, you know?” Chanyeol grins at the other.

 

“Sleepover until defense day?” the other offers, “In exchange for home cooked dinner, please?”

 

The interest in Sehun, Jongin, and Kyungsoo’s eyes were at pique. The questioning gazes and the teasing smiles all just about ready to run a thousand questions a minute if not for the waiter coming down to the table to serve their food. Chanyeol couldn’t be any more thankful.

  
  
  


Just like every other night since the two of them started sharing the bed, Baekhyun had always rolled into his embrace for warmth. It didn’t stop the sleep talking, and the sleep talking didn’t stop talking about “I like you’s”, the confessions didn’t stop Chanyeol from wishing one of these days Baekhyun would be awake to tell him.

 

His heart would race whenever those words would come out of the other’s pouty lips, looking too soft and moist even in his sleep. Chanyeol felt like a total creep wanting to kiss the sleeping boy and he has enough sense to not do anything without the other’s consent. He’d lie awake with a heart working on overdrive, mumbling softly of “I like you too’s” into the other’s hair before he tries to get some shut eye.

  
  
  


“Sehun,” Baekhyun is in the younger student’s dorm during one vacant class one afternoon, “Does Chanyeol talk about me sometimes?”

 

He hears the other outright snort and eye him incredulously, “Are you fucking kidding me? He talks about you all the fucking time, it’s ridiculous. At least, I know what’s been up with you, since you don’t seem to be keen on letting me know.”

 

“No, it’s just that we’ve been spending a lot of time together and he’s been really wonderful and nice to me,” he replies, making the other boy stop what he’s doing — probably some formula homework with math stuff in it.

 

“Look at you, finally catching up to what everyone's been watching for months,” Sehun tells him, “He talks about you a lot, practically the only person he asks about, and he’s lucky enough I know the answers to his questions. I’m trying to play nice here and encourage you both. It’s only working on him though, you’re too dense.”

 

Baekhyun goes on a tirade of questions, self-doubts, and insecurities, only to get a look of exasperation from Sehun. It was entirely too smug and done that it shuts him up eventually, “What? It’s eating me up inside! We sleep in one bed! He holds me when I snuggle in my sleep, and pretends to be asleep when I wake up so I don’t have to be awkward about waking up beside him. He’s perfect!”

 

“Just shut up, Baekhyun. I won’t tell you to go for it if I knew he was just going to hurt you,” Sehun replies, bored, “Now, get out of my room I have shit to do!”

  
  
  


Chanyeol was ordering some grilled chicken skewers and spicy rice cakes outside of university while waiting for Baekhyun to get out of his last class. He was terribly hungry from not being able to eat full meals all day. However, he didn’t want to be too full in case Baekhyun wanted to go have dinner together. It felt like a good day to refresh and review, he was very much ready for their thesis defense after they had everything completed and ticked off of their to-do lists. He and Baekhyun had planned to throw questions at each other to try and see how they’re going to do once in front of a jury.

 

His phone rings in his jacket pocket, shocking him a bit off his concentration on eating his snacks. “Yeah?” he mumbles into the receiver in between chewing. It was Baekhyun asking about his location, “I’m at the hawkers near the east gate, are you coming here or do you want me to come get you?” He can never help the smile on his face, even with the bits of sauce on the corners of his lips, “I’ll get you some food then let’s meet at the entrance? I’ll be quick, promise. See you!”

 

After grabbing some more chicken skewers, spicy rice cakes, and a few fish cakes as well, he makes his way over to meet the other at the building entrance of Baekhyun’s last class. He was with a few classmates, discussing some group work they’ll be working on in the next couple of weeks.

 

“Hey,” Baekhyun approaches him as soon as the others have left, he offers him the food and the smile Baekhyun looks at him with seem to open the heavens and shine a ray of light over his presence, “Thanks for coming here with food! I’m really starving, I haven’t had time to sit down and eat.”

 

“Want to come eat out while we review? I need an actual meal to get me through the rest of the day,” Chanyeol watches fondly as the other takes succeeding bites off of the skewers until his mouth his full, nodding at him as he chews.

 

They make their way to the usual family restaurant. It was quiet during this time of day since most students were out later in the day. They get the usual group meal and wait to be served, taking out their reading materials to begin reviewing each other. Chanyeol savored their moments of quiet, only the two of them, and literally without people looking in on them. He enjoys the smiles that Baekhyun would throw his way, even without words, quite unnecessary when they’ve learned to read each other’s reactions to things having grown to know so much and yet still keep learning.

 

Baekhyun throws random questions about their topic of study that they both answer, nodding when they agree and discussing when they have different answers. It was constructive and it was pulling them into the seriousness of what they’ve been working at for the past almost-entire year. “Do you think we’ll get this down on Friday?” he says, a little nervous.

 

“Yeah, of course! We know this project in all angles, we’ve studied every topic and we’ve covered the loopholes that we saw, we’ll nail this!” Chanyeol replies, he looks at Baekhyun and fixes his gaze on him when their eyes meet, “I got you, yeah?” Baekhyun smiles again, nodding as he feels his heart calm from anxiety and then race again at the way Chanyeol always manages to reassure him.

 

“Chanyeol,” he says, waiting for the other to look up from the papers and meet his gaze like earlier, “I like you a lot.”

 

With a soft smile and a look of— relief? —Chanyeol reaches for his hand on the table, “I like you a lot too, Baekhyunnie.”

  
  
  


The week passes by in a flash. Classes were the usual boring and lengthy lectures, the breaks were too short to even help them relax, and the requirements just piled up as they near the week of finals. Friday had gone as they had wished.

 

Baekhyun was a nervous wreck and Chanyeol figuratively held his hand along the way while they presented their study, he trusted him completely, and they had been able to find a working dynamic between them in the midst of the pressure clouding the shorter boy’s mind. He had it all memorized like the back of his hand, he just wasn’t that good of a speaker in front of people he wasn’t close with. The presence of the other on his side had been a huge help, along with the constant assurances that the other provided while it was his turn to speak.

 

In the end, their professors and their mentor had congratulated them with proud smiles on their faces. Patting them on the back and encouraging them about their plans after they’ve graduated. Baekhyun was about to pass out with his nerves during the entire exchange until Chanyeol held his hand to squeeze gently and rub soothingly with his thumb. The way his big hand engulfed the slim digits in between his and the warmth that his palm would press against his had him melting on the inside.

 

It wasn’t until they’ve dragged themselves out of the room and it sunk in that they’ve completed it that Chanyeol hugged him tight, protective and possessive, “Congratulations, baby.” He tightly wraps his arms right back around the taller male’s torso and buries his face below his chin, starting to feel the lightness and the sense of achievement after finishing the course together.

 

“Congratulations to us! Thank you for keeping me sane, I was a total mess.” Baekhyun mumbles out of habit, feeling the other gently squeeze him in his arms, and pull back a little to kiss the top of his head.

  
  
  


Chanyeol and Sehun were in Baekhyun’s dorm room one afternoon, working on endless amounts of papers for the rest of their classes. The other’s asleep on the bed after he’d just gone back from taking a final exam.

 

“So, does he still talk in his sleep since then?” Sehun asks, “Just curious.”

 

“Yeah, definitely,” Chanyeol chuckles, “But it’s a variety of colorful words now, so I’m curious if it’s me he’s cursing at or if he’s dreaming of games.”

 

Sehun laughs and stretches in his seat, “He does dream of games, I remember so many times we’d sleep over and he’d wake me up in the middle of the night.” They take a break then, Chanyeol listening as the younger student tells him stories about his now-boyfriend, funny things and plain endearing habits. Sehun teases him about being a disgusting love sick puppy which makes him laugh out loud.

 

Sehun fills him in on embarrassing stories from the sleeping boy’s puberty years, “Damn, can't wait until you meet his parents! They'll even show pictures! I had so much blackmail material when I went with him one spring break. His family is hilarious, you'll love it there!”

 

Chanyeol might be a little nervous about the prospect of meeting the parents but he’ll work on making himself worthy. Afterall, he plans to do the same when the timing is right and Baekhyun’s comfortable enough. For now, he’s that boyfriend who tells his family about his partner. Chuckling and smiling to himself as Sehun continues to inject random stories as they do their work, Chanyeol thinks he has a good future ahead of him with Baekhyun by his side and their supportive friends.

 

Sehun heads out before sundown, mentioning he had a dinner with Irene which makes him smile like it's his first time going on a date. Chanyeol chuckles and wishes him luck just to tease him before freshening up to join Baekhyun in bed.

  
  
  


He lays beside Baekhyun, gently running his fingers through the other’s quite lengthy hair. He notices he may need to remind him to get a haircut soon. Staring at his face, he observes the gentle, steady breathing through parted lips, and admires how he still looks good despite the traces of tiredness under his eyes. Chanyeol smiles to himself before leaning in to plant a soft kiss to the exposed cheek, making the boy stir awake.

 

“Yeol?” he mumbles groggily, then moving in to snuggle against Chanyeol’s bigger body, whom instantly caves in and holds him protectively.

 

“I love you,” he mumbles and kisses the top of Baekhyun’s head, making the smaller boy in his arms look up at him with a sleepy smile. “I love you too,” Baekhyun says, leaning up to plant a kiss to his lips, deepening it in a second in response.

 

“Go back to sleep, we can go out on a late night date later,” Chanyeol says, cuddling Baekhyun as he closes his eyes, too, finally feeling relaxation take over his senses. Contentment has never felt so good.


End file.
